Issue #59 * January 14, 1998 * David A. Ridenour, Editor

Opposition to the Endangered Species Recovery Act (S. 1180),
an Endangered Species Act reauthorization bill worked out in negotiations
between Senator Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID), Secretary of Interior
Bruce Babbitt, Senator John Chafee (R-RI) and others, is building
momentum as three influential state Farm Bureau federations have
come out against the bill in recent months. The three are the
California, Florida and Washington state Farm Bureaus. "We
firmly believe that the Kempthorne bill does nothing to help our
farmers or ranchers or the rural communities that currently bear
the brunt of the ESA," wrote Steve Appel, President of the
Washington State Farm Bureau. "Our members have worked long
and hard to achieve reform of the Endangered Species Act, however
this bill makes the Act even a less fair and open process than
it is today." Among the key weaknesses of S. 1180: 1) It
does not provide compensation to landowners for property value
losses resulting from implementation of the ESA; 2) It exempts
biological information from the Freedom of Information Act, thereby
preventing challenges to such data; 3) It gives the Fish and Wildlife
Service greater power to make decisions unilaterally; and 4) It
retains definition of "harm" to include habitat modification.
For more information, contact David Ridenour of The National Center
for Public Policy Research @ 202/543-4110.

It's Not the Heat, It's the Stupidity: Analysis
Finds Bad Policies, Not Global Warming, to Blame for Tropical
Diseases

A Brief Analysis issued by the Dallas, Texas-based National
Center for Policy Analysis finds that the spread of such tropical
diseases as malaria, cholera and dengue fever has more to do with
bad government policies than global warming. The Brief Analysis,
"Sick Argument: Global Warming and the Spread of Tropical
Diseases," notes that Peru had been cholera-free for decades
until 1991, when Peruvian officials took the advice of the U.S.
EPA and ended water chlorination. More than 300,000 Peruvians
contracted cholera the following year. The paper also notes that
malaria was fairly widespread in the United States earlier this
century when the temperatures were presumably cooler, with more
than 120,000 cases in 1934. For more, contact Sterling Burnett
at The National Center for Policy Analysis at 972/386-6272 or
visit their website at www.ncpa.org.

The Myth of Scientific Consensus on Global Warming

Forget what you've read in the press or watched on television:
There is no scientific consensus on global warming. A survey of
over 400 German, American and Canadian climate researchers conducted
by Dennis Bray of the Meteorologisches Institut der Unversitat
Hamburg and Hans von Storch of GKSS Forschungszentrum found that
67% of the researchers either disagreed or were uncertain about
the proposition that climate change will occur so suddenly that
a lack of preparation would devastate certain parts of the world
-- the underlying assumption of the Kyoto treaty. Close to half
of the researchers -- 48% -- indicated that they don't have faith
in the forecasts of global climate models. For more information,
obtain a copy of National Policy Analysis paper No. 177 by calling
Mike Quickel at The National Center for Public Policy Research,
202/543-4110, or by visiting our website at www.nationalcenter.org/NPA177.html.

Oh, the Hypocrisy of it All

Environmental activists who went to the Kyoto global warming
conference to lobby for sharp curbs on fuel use burned up a lot
of fuel to do so. An activist travelling from New York to Kyoto,
for example, would have been responsible for burning 299 gallons
of jet fuel, assuming he/she travelled by DC-10-30. Oh, the hypocrisy
of it all.

New Releases from The National Center for Public
Policy Research

National Policy Analysis Papers

Myth of Scientific Consensus on Global
Warming. Quick-read, two-page paper showing that scientific
consensus on global warming has not been reached. The paper cites
numerous surveys of climate researchers, including one conducted
by German researchers.

A Real Life "It's a Wonderful
Life." Quick-read two-page paper telling the regulatory
horror story of a New York couple faced with the prospect of
jail time over the Christmas holidays for a crime they didn't
commit.

We Have But One Thing to Fear: Fear Itself -- Parts
I and II. Cards detail five unfounded
public health scares over the past several decades, based on
a study by the American Council on Science and Health.

Special Publications

Kyoto Earth Summit Information Center
"Earth Summit Fact Sheet."
Three-page quick reference fact sheet on everything you need
to know about global warming, including the global temperature
predictions; satellite, weather balloon, and ground temperature
measurements; economic forecasts; history of climate negotiations;
and more. Also published were eight "Kyoto
Daily Bulletins" published each day of the Kyoto Global
Warming confrence based on information from our on-site correspendent
in Kyoto.

Ten Dumbest Things Environmentalists Did in 1997. Description
of ten of the dumbest actions and statements made by environmentalists
during 1997, compiled by The National Center's Environmental
Policy Task Force. Published in Scoop
#182.

All editorial correspondence to The Relief Report
should be directed to: The National Center for Public Policy Research
* 501 Capitol Court, N.E. * Washington, D.C. 20002 *
Tel 202/543-4110 * Fax 202/543-5975 * E-mail [email protected]
* Web http://www.nationalcenter.org.
Copyright 1998, The National Center for Public Policy Research.
Coverage of meetings, activities or statements in the Relief Report
does not imply endorsement by The National Center for Public Policy
Research. Reprints of material in the Relief Report permitted
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or send a message to [email protected].###